


A Saturday Afternoon

by Olisepha



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, OiHina - Freeform, Pre-Relationship, no explicit side pairings, post training camp, pre spring tournament, shou and kenma being besties, will add more characters and tags as i go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-01 17:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6529756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olisepha/pseuds/Olisepha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shouyou didn't hear his mother’s reply as he raced out of the door, already in training gear, his sport bag slung over his shoulder. He assumed she had asked him to greet Tobio, who he would usually meet up on weekends to play volleyball. However, when Shouyou swung himself onto his bike and rode down to the public sports court that afternoon, he wasn't going to meet his friend – in fact, said setter was the reason Shouyou was royally pissed on this Saturday evening.<br/>And when he stepped onto the court, the frown still present in his face, he surely didn't expect to meet the brunet setter from Aoba Jousai, much less play volleyball with him, yet here they were.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey there ollie here! before we start, i just want to say that english isnt my native language so please look after me! also, i dont usually write soo my writing style may be a bit rusty. anyway, oihina needs way more love so i hope you enjoy this! thanks to Clocks for beta reading for me!!  
> if you want to find me on tumblr, my main is @olisepha and my hq!! sideblog is @kurokashis

"Mum, I'm going out!"

"Alright Shou, but be back when it gets dark."

"Okay!"  
Shouyou didn't hear his mother’s reply as he raced out of the door, already in training gear, his sport bag slung over his shoulder. He assumed she had asked him to greet Tobio, who he would usually meet up on weekends to play volleyball. However, when Shouyou swung himself onto his bike and rode down to the public sports court that afternoon, he wasn't going to meet his friend – in fact, said setter was the reason Shouyou was royally pissed on this Saturday evening.  
"Dumb Kageyama. Stupid, annoying, dumb setter-" The redhead mumbled while cycling downhill, a string of insults falling from his mouth with no end in sight. Their discussion had started over something trivial; which western Youtuber is better, and grew to a full scale argument which got very personal very quickly. Now Hinata did what he would always do when he was upset, annoyed or otherwise inconvenienced; he would go play volleyball.  
Dropping his bike next to the bench he then put his bag on, he pulled out his Molten volleyball and started practising receives against the wall. Usually, Kageyama would join to set for him but today it was just Shouyou, barely managing to keep the ball off the ground for longer than a few seconds since his mind kept wandering, and as time went on, Shouyou grew increasingly frustrated with the situation. Why was it his fault that Kageyama got offended and decided to fight him about _that_? The setter could be so petty and stubborn! And now Shouyou was too angry to even play volleyball properly, the one thing he was amazing at!  
"God DAMN IT!" He yelled and threw the ball against the wall as hard as he could, hoping to relieve his anger with some kind of destruction, but instead of magically lightening Shouyou's mood (or shattering the wall), the ball bounced off and flew towards the bushes surrounding the field. Shouyou groaned internally. _'Ugh, just great-'_

"OW!"

Shouyou stopped in his tracks when a pained yelp sounded from the other side of the bushes, and not long after a tall and rather familiar looking brunet stepped through and – wait, "the- THE GRAND KING?"  
"...Chibi-chan?" Seijoh's setter held Shouyou's volleyball in his hands, a surprised expression on his face as he spotted the redhead who almost accusingly pointed a finger at him. Before Oikawa was able to say anymore, Shouyou began talking in a voice he hoped to be intimidating. Though, it sounded rather shaky, and combined with the fact that he had already backed off four steps since spotting the brunet, he looked anything but scary. "W-what are you doing here?! Are you...are you here to spy on Karasuno? W-Wanna fight!?"  
The confused expression on Oikawa's face only remained for the split of a second, before completely dissolving into one of amusement as the setter laughed out loud, much to Shouyou's annoyance. The king was supposed to be intimidated damn it! Yet all he did was laugh as if Shouyou was the funniest thing he had ever seen, whose face reddened in embarrassment. It took a good few seconds for Oikawa to reduce his laughter to quiet giggling before he looked straight at the redhead again. An amused smile was still playing around his lips as he tossed the ball back to Shouyou.  
"I didn't expect to run into you on a Saturday afternoon, Chibi-chan. Playing volleyball all alone?" The setter leisurely walked onto the court, glancing around as if looking for someone before setting his gaze back on Shouyou. "Aren't you and dear Tobio-chan always practising together?"  
Hinata huffed in annoyance, gaining confidence now that he believed that the totally-not-intimidating Oikawa was not there to fight him. The redhead stemmed his hands on his hips and looked at the brunet with the best glare he could muster, attempting to copy Tanaka's scary face that usually helped to chase unwanted guests away. "I'm not _always_ with Kageyama! Also, I live here. You don't! How do I know you didn't come here to sabotage us?"

Again, instead of being intimidated by Hinata's awesome expression, Oikawa chuckled and waved him off. "My grandma is in the retirement home nearby and I payed her a visit, no need to attack me." He put his hands in his pockets, and his lips formed a sly smile which almost, _almost_ made Shouyou back up a little more, but he stayed put and kept glaring at the enemy setter while said brunet continued talking. "Now, what’s got your knickers in a twist? Did Tobio-chan break up with you?"  
Any confidence Shouyou might have gained before was immediately replaced by a wave of embarrassment and, he admitted to himself, a bit of discomfort at the idea of him dating Kageyama. They were best friends, yes, even if he would never say that out loud, and he was pissed at the setter , because honestly he was such an asshole sometimes! But still, it was pretty obvious. Plus, Shouyou couldn't remember Kageyama ever showing romantic interest in anyone, so the thought of the setter being interested in him of all people was just… weird.  
Shaking his head to clear his mind of more uncomfortable thoughts, Shouyou squared his shoulders and tried yet again to impress the brunet with a glare.  
"Kageyama and I are not dating!" Nailed it.  
"Besides…who would want to date that jerk anyway.", he couldn't help but add in a quieter voice..  
…Only to immediately regret it when he saw Oikawa step closer as his face lit up in an interested grin. "Oh?~ What's this, the dream duo is having a fight?" Shouyou took a step back to put distance between him and the taller boy, but the moment he thought back to his conversation with Kageyama, the anger about the stubbornness of his friend flared back up. And before the redhead knew what he was doing, Shouyou spilled all his frustration about Kageyama and his stupid opinions that were totally wrong anyway, to Oikawa.

_______________________________________________

"Okay, okay, hold on a second. Let me sum this up, you and Tobio-chan aren't talking because of… Youtubers?"  
"Yes- I mean no! He insulted my volleyball skills as well! He said my spikes 'might be' brilliant but I'm always 'wasting points' with my 'lousy receives and serves'!"  
Shouyou gestured wildly, barely making sure not to hit Oikawa in the face, since he was sitting next to him on the bench now. At this point, the redhead didn't care that he was telling a supposed rival about insecurities within the team or if Oikawa even wanted to hear any of it, he kept going. "Can you believe that!? He knows better than anyone that I'm trying! And anyway, serves are-"

"How about you just practice receives and serves alone and surprise everyone with your development?"  
Hinata stopped his gesturing and stared quietly at the brunet for the first time in fifteen minutes. Oikawa looked positively exhausted with Shouyou's talking, yet he was still sitting there and listening, which quite honestly came as a surprise to Shou.  
Deciding to push that thought away for another time, Shouyou sighed and shrugged, bouncing his legs on the ground.  
"Well, I tried! But it never really worked so I always asked Kageyama to throw me the ball and-" That was the moment a brilliant idea crossed Hinata's mind.  
Apparently, it must've shown on his face. Oikawa made an expression that could have been interpreted as 'I don't like where this is going'. Hinata didn't really care.

"…What is it?"

"Oh, y'know, I thought, since you're a setter and you seem to have free time- don't get me wrong that doesn't mean we're friends! I'm still going to beat you and Seijoh!", Hinata pointed at Oikawa, his voice full of conviction, "but you're really awesome at volleyball! So you could totally help me practice my receives!"  
Shouyou smiled brightly; doing his best to look as convincing as possible because at the moment, Oikawa was just staring blankly back at him. Shouyou was never good at reading the expressions of people he didn't know. _'Is he…is he considering it? Is he going to fight me? …He's intimidating.'_ The redhead's smile was slowly falling again, but before he could back out and pretend it was a joke, the brunet setter started laughing loudly again. He was even doubling over, almost wheezing before he managed to get words out.  
"G-god, Chibi-chan, you're hilarious! Really? You're asking me to help you improve?"

"Uh….yeah?"

Apparently something was incredibly funny to Oikawa, and Shouyou didn't quite get _what_. They both played volleyball; asking for him to toss isn't that weird…was it? At least not so weird that Oikawa would have to wipe a stray tear from the corner of his eye, but there he was, leaning back and clutching his belly in laughter.  
Shouyou was getting more and more confused by the second, but lucky for him, Oikawa finally seemed to calm down from his laughing fit. The brunet turned to look back at Hinata; Shouyou was about to applaud himself for not flinching, but Oikawa clapped a hand on the redhead's right shoulder, startling him after all.

"You know what, Chibi-chan?" 

"Uh-" 

"You're either really stupid or just naive, but I feel like indulging you today."

"…that means?"

Oikawa chuckled again, and Hinata prepared himself for another fit, but this time he only got one of the setter's mischievous smiles and a nod.  
"Let's play."

_______________________________________________

"Nice receive!"

"Once more!"

Shouyou's clothes were damp with sweat and his breath was coming out in short puffs, yet he hadn't stopped smiling for almost an hour. After a few initial problems and getting used to each other ("WHY AREN'T YOU HITTING THE BALL?!" "WHY AREN'T YOU TOSSING BETTER?!" "I'M THE BEST SETTER IN THE PREFECTURE!" "FIGHT ME!"), Oikawa and Shouyou managed to work smoothly together. Hinata felt himself improving with every move; he was thrilled to the bone to be able to practice his weaknesses in his free time without failing miserably, or getting yelled at by Kageyama.  
Shouyou stood at the edge of the court, knees bent and body tense, waiting for Oikawa to toss the ball to him so he could receive it. Feeling the ball bounce off his wrists with full control over its direction was a great feeling; but nothing beat the rush of adrenaline he felt when he was running towards the net and jumped. A last glance to the setter, a last affirmative eye contact, before his eyes darted to the ball and a millisecond later, his palm made contact. The ball crashed onto the concrete on the other side and Shouyou jumped in cheer again the moment he landed back on the ground.

"YEAH!"

"Nice one, Chibi-chan!"

He turned to Oikawa, who was beaming back at Hinata with almost the same enthusiasm. The setter wasn't in any better shape than Shouyou; his clothes clung to his body and a droplet of sweat rolled down his face, but Hinata was sure Oikawa enjoyed it as much as he did. Well, almost as much.  
Shouyou was about to ask for another toss, yet before he could say anything, the setter's eyes darted to the sky. While Shouyou was still confused, Oikawa sighed and quickly made his way over to their bags.  
"Uh, Oikawa-san? Why are we stopping?"  
Shouyou jogged to pick up the ball before joining Oikawa at the bench and grabbing his water bottle to take a sip. The brunet turned to Shouyou and ruffled his hair, regarding the fighting stance Shouyou took up immediately with an amused smile.

"I have a train to catch. As you said, I don't live here."  
Hinata felt strangely disappointed at that; he really enjoyed training with Oikawa, even if he still refused to let down his guard. It seemed like he actually improved, he was on a roll right now!  
Shouyou didn't have time to come up with an excuse for him to stay, because Seijoh's setter chuckled, interrupting his thoughts and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Aww, now don't make that face, Chibi-chan."

"What fa-"

"I have an idea. Give me your phone."  
The grin on Oikawa's face wasn't exactly reassuring, but Hinata reached into his bag anyway and handed his phone over to him.

"Okay so…I'll put my number…into…your phone…so ... you can text me… later… and I'll have your number, so whenever I'm in the mood, I might call you up for another practice!"  
Oikawa typed something into Shouyou's phone while explaining, keeping it out of range of his curious glances, before handing it back to him with a grin.

"See ya later, Chibi-chan!"  
Oikawa waved and started jogging away, giving Shouyou's annoyed "IT'S HINATA!" only a laugh. Shouyou's mouth formed a pout, but before he could get caught up in internally cursing Oikawa, he remembered his phone. When he checked, his contacts where open and a new contact called 'Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡' was in his list.  
_' "Tooru-senpai? Heart heart heart?"…he's weird.'_  
Hinata stuffed his phone back into his pocket and started driving home shortly after; he realized that it was shortly after sundown and if he was going to get home any later, his mother would not let him off easy. And, Shouyou was really, _really_ hungry.

_____________________________________________

After dinner, which sadly did involve a lot of "Why are you home so late?" And "I told you to be back before it got dark!", Shouyou managed to sneak away to his room to avoid having to put Natsu to bed. Don't get him wrong, Shou loved his little sister, but when you have to take care of her whenever you're not in school or training, it can get exhausting.  
Still, determined to get at least a little homework done before bed, Shouyou dropped into his chair at his desk.

…Only to let out an exasperated groan good fifteen minutes later. _'Ugh, I'm bored already…'_ Shouyou looked around his desk, trying to find something to distract himself even for a few minutes, when his eyes landed on his phone. _'…I guess it would be great to have someone toss for me if Kageyama can't.'_ That was all it really took to convince himself to take up the phone again and start to type up a message to Oikawa.

You: 'It's Hinata! Not Chibi-chan! Thanks for today I guess. We're still gonna beat you.'

Shouyou nodded to himself, quite satisfied with the message he sent. It wasn't too friendly, but still strong enough to make sure Oikawa would respect him. He thought about changing the name the setter gave himself in his phone as well, but he'd rather not risk the Grand King's anger if he noticed that Shouyou changed it. To what should he change it anyway? Oikawa Tooru sounded too...personal. They didn't know each other that well. 'The Grand King' was the risky one, because what if Oikawa reacted the same way as Kageyama did to being called king? Shouyou didn't have much time to ponder, as barely a minute later, his phone vibrated and the screen lit up with a message from 'Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡'.

Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡: 'ofc u will ;) aww but ur so tiny it fits! ok then what about hina-chan?? :DD'

Shouyou rolled his eyes. Hina-chan sounded just as demeaning as Chibi-chan! Maybe a little less. It still sounded childish but at least it included his actual name. Also, Oikawa called his ace "Iwa-chan" so it probably wasn't that bad. Choosing the lesser evil, Shouyou grumbled something about 'not being that small, damn it!' before typing a short reply.

You: 'Ugh. Fine.'

Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡: ';D'

Oikawa was pretty weird. He wasn't as intimidating as Shou initially thought, but still managed to shush the redhead with a look. And he made the most awful jokes. But, while Shouyou hated to admit it, some of them actually made him laugh, and while he'd rather have someone from his own team or Nekoma practise with him, Oikawa didn't seem too bad. _'For now, at least.'_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shouyou has a very, very bad sense of orientation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya second chapter wohoo! i'll try to update every monday, but finals are coming up so if the updates come late please forgive me. also thank you to everyone who commented and left kudos!!!!! its incredible to get so much positive feedback on my first fic !!!!  
> No beta this time, so there might be some grammar mistakes or the charas are ooc aha so if find anything, let me know! oh yeah and i have no idea how the ao3 html works my apologies lmao
> 
> as usual tumblr: @olisepha and hq!! side blog is @kurokashis talk to me about oihina and haikyuu hehe

The sun was already setting when Shouyou got on the train this evening. He was only ever allowed to be home late when he occaisionally visited Kenma on weekends, since his friend lived all the way in Tokyo and Shouyou couldn't really control the train schedule.   
He plugged in his headphones and leaned back in his seat with a sigh and a small smile on his face; it wasn't often that he got to see his friend, but he really enjoyed spending time with Kenma. Shouyou could talk with him about virtually anything, be it volleyball, video games, or what annoyed him in school. Even though Kenma would often only hummed in response, he did try and help if Shouyou was actually upset. _'Man, I didn't think I'd spend so much time with Kenma when I first met him, being in different teams and all..'_ , Hinata smiled to himself and closed his eyes as he thought back to the training camp not too long ago, _'But I still can't get him to set for me! He likes volleyball, right?'_ The redhead's nose scrunched up when the great memories of the camp where replaced with his repeated fruitless attempts at getting Kenma to go out and play volleyball with him. _'Kuroo-san did say Kenma usually does even less but we're like really good friends now, aren't we?'_ Shouyou huffed quietly in frustration. _'He should… "indulge" me sometimes?'_   Shouyou's concentration was jumpy, he knew that, yet once again his mind wandered, from Kenma to the weird encounter with the Grand King barely a week ago.   
Shouyou still didn't know what to make of this. Playing together was fun, sure, and they've exchanged numbers afterwards, but they haven't really texted much since. The only texts Hinata had received from Oikawa were a few teasing comments about volleyball and his size. _'Why did we exchange numbers anyway, he's rarely in the area.. seems kinda pointless to me.'_ He shrugged to himself and tapped his foot in the rythm of the quiet music sounding from his headphones. It's not like Shouyou would have the confidence to text Oikawa and ask if he wants to play, no way. One good experience did not make up for the scary encounters they've had in restrooms before matches. Plus, he didn't even know if the setter wasn't messing with him after all. Maybe Hinata was the laughing stock of all of Aoba Johsai!

'-no coming up next.'

Shouyou shot upright when he heard the announcers voice faintly through his headphones. Shit, he didn't pay attention! How long had he been spacing out for? It sounded like his station, at least. _'Damn, I need to get out!'_ He quickly gathered his bag and jacket and left the train as soon as it stopped. 

 

___________________________________________

 

"Uh….."

_'Where am I?'_

Shouyou stood in the middle of an unknown street, almost frantically looking around. He got the wrong station. Obviously. And he had already asked how to get home, but apparently no trains to Torono Town were leaving from that station anymore today, so he had to get to a _different_ station twenty minutes away. There was only one minor problem Shouyou didn't consider when had he took off running from the station: he had a horrible sense of orientation.   
Which led him to the situation he was in now; on a street he didn't know a few miles outside of Tokyo. _'Argh, god darn it! Where am I supposed to go?'_ Hinata looked around another corner, trying to find the direction he was supposed to be going in. The man in the store had said he would find the station easily! _'Easy, my butt. And I don't really want to ask that store owner again, he'd think I'm stupid or something...'_ Shouyou sighed and dropped down on a bench, looking at his black phone screen as if that would somehow show him the way. _'Kenma should know right? He only lives about thirty minutes away, doesn't he…'_  
A short text conversation later Shouyou was completely out of ideas. He slumped back against the bench and let his head hang with a loud groan. "What should I do…." Kenma was the only person he knew who close by! His mother was going to be livid- wait! There _was_ another person Shouyou knew who lived near Tokyo. _'The Grand King..?'_ Hinata leaned back forward, casting another glance at his phone as he considered the idea. It has lots of flaws, obviously. Oikawa could be living in at completely different area, the Miyagi Prefecture was quite big after all! Or he couldn't be home, or unwilling to help Shouyou, or god knows what. There were so many negatives, yet Shouyou wasn't really in a position to not try any given option.

**You** : 'Oikawa-san. Do you have time right now?'

The minutes Hinata had to wait for a reply felt like an eternity to him. He left the chat open, but turned his head up at the sky. The sun had set while he was still on the train, and while it wasn't completely dark yet, the streetlights had already turned on. His mother would yell at him for sure this time..

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'ooh hina-chan how rare u text me first! what is it?'

**You** : 'You live near Tokyo right?'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'i do r u gonna visit me (*ﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ?'

**You** : 'No. I'm kinda sorta a little lost and need directions.'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'ur lost??? Ahahaha dont worry ur great Senpai Tooru will help u find ur way ฅ(♡ơ ₃ơ)ฅ'

Shouyou grinned and hopped back onto his feet, phone still in hand. Finally he could find this stupid station! 

 

___________________________________________

 

Turns out Hinata Shouyou was even worse at directions than he was at receives. Tooru let out a frustrated sigh, leaning back in his chair as he continued to listen to Hinata's quiet mumbling sounding through the speaker of his phone while the redhead was trying to find his way. Tooru had tried texting him directions after it took ages to find out where Hinata even was. That had failed quite quickly, since it only seemed to confuse him even more, so Tooru had offered to call him to lead the way. Hinata could consider himself lucky, the setter actually lived only a few blocks away, so he knew the area well. However, Tooru didn't think that Karasuno's middle blocker would be entirely clueless! It took ten minutes just to figure out where Hinata was standing in the first place, and in the last fifteen they've been trying to get him to the station.

"Okay, have you reached the shop with the green and white sign?"

_"Uh…you said go left and turn right at the shop?"_

"No, I said go right and turn left at the shop... Oh please don't tell me you've went the wrong way again-"

_"I- uh … well, I'm sorry I'm not good with directions!"_

"You've been walking around for fifteen minutes!"

Tooru let out a groan and sat back up. This really wasn't getting anywhere. Not only had he missed half of the volleyball game he had been watching before Hinata had texted him, but if it got any later, Hinata would also miss the last train on the western station. Sure, it was a Saturday, so the younger boy wouldn't miss any school, but still.  
Having made up his mind, Tooru quickly stood and jogged to the front door to grab his jacket and shoes.

"Go to back to the main street, turn left until you reach the shop and stay there. I'm coming to get you."

 

___________________________________________

 

Shouyou was sitting on a bench yet again; this time in front of the shop he was supposed to be, though. Another sigh escaped his lips, it was the third this minute now. He was annoyed, tired and physically exhausted after all that running around and trying to make anything of the directions Oikawa gave him over the phone. It was dark alright? The streetlights didn't do much in the smaller alleys, he couldn't see signs or posts he was supposed to turn at, so he just guessed the way. _'I'm pretty sure I missed my train now…it's not my fault the Grand King is so bad at giving directions!'_ Shouyou huffed quietly as he thought to himself, anxiety slowly building up at the thought of not getting home tonight. Yet luckily, before he could completely freak out, a familiar figure turned around the corner and jogged towards him.

"Yahooo, Hina-chan!"

Shouyou looked up immediately at the sound of his nickname, a relieved smile spreading across his face. He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and stood to greet the brunet. Looking closer, Oikawa was wearing his usual smile as he waved, which meant he wasn't angry at Shouyou, at least. The setter was slightly out of breath when he arrived next to Shou, he pulled an overly dramatic pout and patted the redhead hard on the shoulder, who reacted too late to avoid flinching.

"Really now, Hina-chan, your sense of orientation sucks! I've missed half an hour of an international volleyball match because of you, you know that?"

Oikawa was speaking in an obviously staged voice that was in no way threatening, which made it easier for Shouyou to ignore the underlying accusation. He lifted his chin a little, trying to give the brunet a self-confident counter in return.

"You offered to help me, so you have no right to complain!"

"Getting cocky, heh? Come on, let's go. We don't want you to miss your train after all I've went through to help you!"

Oikawa laughed and patted Shouyou on the back this time before starting to walk with an amused smile on his lips. The redhead huffed quietly but quickly caught up to walk beside him, looking up at the taller boy. He still wondered why the Grand King would agree to help him. Did he consider them friends now? Was it just common courtesy? Pity? Shouyou had no idea and it was annoying him to no end. He frowned; pity was the last thing he wanted from that guy with an ego that seemed immense enough already. Shouyou kept his gaze set on Oikawa's face, trying to decipher his real intention, when the brunet noticed and looked down at him with the same smile he had given him before.

"Don't give me that look, I'm not going to abduct you."

Something seemed to greatly amuse Oikawa and once again, Shouyou had no clue what it was. However, before he could ask or respond in any way, his stomach made an embarrassingly loud noise.

"Uuh…"

Shouyou glanced up at the setter, hoping to find him still staring ahead without having heard his stomach, but those hopes were crushed the moment he saw those light brown eyes look down at him in surprise. A second later, a snort sounded from Oikawa and Shouyou felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. So much about impressing the Grand King with his mature, manly character!

"You know, there's a shop that sells pork buns not far ahead, you can go buy your dinner there." 

"Well, uh…not really."

Hinata fidgeted, he definitely did _not_ want to tell Oikawa that he had already spent all his money on sweets when he was at Kenma's. The brunet raised an eyebrow when Shouyou didn't give a reason for not being able to buy dinner when he was obviously hungry.

"What?"

"I'm kinda sorta out of money already."

 

___________________________________________

 

"Really now, Hina-chan, the lengths I go through to help you!"

Oikawa blew out a dramatic sigh as they exited the shop together, both with a pork bun in hand. Shouyou didn't bother replying, he only muttered an excited hum , there was very yummy food in his hands and he was very hungry.

"Itadake-"

"Oi, you better appreciate me!"

Before Shouyou could take a bite though, a seemingly annoyed setter pinched his cheek and pulled on it hard enough to hurt.

"Ow ow ow ow I-I appreshiate you! Sh-shank you, Grand King!"

Oikawa grinned in satisfaction and finally let go of Shouyou's cheek, who proceeded to rub his sore skin while secretly glaring at the brunet. Oikawa was acting like a king, alright. But, wasting no more time on brooding, Shouyou finally took a bite of his pun, and almost squealed in relief. He felt like he was starving! Sweets weren't exactly filling, and he and Kenma often forgot to eat a proper meal over video games. Shouyou finished his bun in a few bites and blew out a satisfied sigh; he was quite happy with how his situation had played out. While there was still the possibility that he would miss his train, now he had someone to bring him safely to the station _and_ buy him pork buns. Shouyou smiled to himself and gave his step a little bounce so he was lightly swaying while walking.

"Say, Hina-chan."

"Hm?"

"What were you doing in Tokyo? Visiting someone?"

Hinata glanced up at the brunet again, who had just finished his pork bun and threw the paper in a nearby bin before looking down at him. Shouyou nodded with a smile and continued his bouncy walk.

"Yeah, I went to Kenma's house. I do that quite a lot actually, though, usually I don't get lost."

"Kenma?"

"Oh, Kozume Kenma. Nekoma's setter, you know? He's a bit taller than me, has blond hair with brown at the top? Looks like a cat?"

Shouyou tried to show Kenma's height and hair with big gestures to help Oikawa remember, but instead of confusion he saw suprise in the taller boy's face. 

"You're friends with a setter from a different team?

Now that confused Shouyou. He tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow, not understanding why Oikawa seemed so disbelieving. Shouyou had many friends from different teams. Sou, Lev, Kuroo, Bokuto… well, he wasn't sure if he could count Kuroo and Bokuto as real friends, but they did hang out a lot during the training camp so Shouyou did consider them friends somehow.

"Uh, yeah? A few of my friends are playing for Nekoma or Fukurodani." 

Oikawa's eyes went even wider, looking at Shouyou in disbelief before a frown took over his face. Shouyou wasn't quite sure what was so outrageous about having friends on other teams, but seemingly Seijoh's setter had a hard time wrapping his mind around it.

"But…doesn't your friendship get in the way when you're playing against them in an official match?"

Oh, so _that was it_. Shouyou laughed and shook his head, his eyes sparkling and full of conviction when he looked back up at Oikawa.

"Not at all! It just makes it way more exciting!"

"How so?"

"Well, you want to win even more when you're playing against your friends team, because you have a personal connection to them! It's like… you both give it your best, and even when you lose you feel great! I don't really know why, but playing against Nekoma is even better now that our teams are friends, y'know?"

Shouyou stopped his rambling and also stopped bouncing, which apparently only got more intense as he talked. He probably didn't explain it very well, since Oikawa's face was still full of suprise and confusion, but he hoped the setter understood at least a bit of it. Sure, Shouyou had been frustrated when in their first game against Nekoma, Sou had blocked almost all of his spikes, but that was just because Sou was an awesome player! It helped Shouyou evolve his quick and even though Sou was replaced by Lev, he was still friends with both of them.

"Huh."

Hinata looked up at Oikawa, trying to figure out how he could explain it better, but the setter just turned his head back forward and continued their way to the station, seemingly still deep in thought. He was quiet for a while, and so Shouyou kept his mouth shut as well, but kept glancing up at the taller boy from time to time. The redhead wondered why Oikawa didn't have any friends on other teams as well, surely a powerhouse school like Aoba Johsai would meet lots of different schools? After all, Oikawa was famous for being able to play perfectly with any team, and he was quite popular with …everyone really. Maybe he was just bad at making friends?

"You're strange, Hina-chan."

"…Strange? What do you mean by strange?!"

Immediately assuming Oikawa was trying to insult him, Hinata got into a defensive position to fend of any attacks that might come this way, but instead he just received one of the setter's amused smiles.

"Calm down, I don't mean it in a bad way."

"You don't?"

"No, I mean…"

The brunet looked up at the sky with pursed lips, apparently thinking about how to phrase his thoughts. Shouyou barely managed to avoid running into a lamp post when they turned around a corner to walk the stairs up to the station, as his gaze was fixed at the setter's face.

"…well, you are tiny-"

HInata shot him a glare but kept quiet otherwise. He wanted to hear the rest of it.

"- and started with no skill, yet you managed to trick top teams with your freak quick. Volleyball is a very competitive sport, Nekoma and Karasuno were rivals for the longest time, but everywhere you go you befriend everyone. I think thats strange."

Shouyou thought about it as they walked up to the platform. He never really considered himself strange for befriending everyone? It was just in his nature somehow. Also, Oikawa was hanging out with him too, doesn't that mean they are friends, too, in a way? Shouyou didn't really get it, so he just shrugged.

"I guess I am."

They stepped out on the platform and Shouyou immediately jogged up to one of the boards, begging and praying internally that he hadn't missed his train, but before he even reached it, the sounds of an incoming vehicle filled the air.

"Wohooo!"

Shouyou jumped up and down at least three times, relief and joy settling in his belly when he saw the first glimpse of steel approaching. Never in his life had he been happier to see the night train to Torono Town than today. He ran up to the doors, but halted and turned around to face Oikawa with a wide grin and waved.

"Thank you for bringing me here and buying me pork buns, Grand King!!"

The brunet laughed lightly and walked a few steps toward the train but stayed at a distance, waving back at Hinata with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. You owe me, Hina-chan!"

Shouyou snickered and hopped into the train when the doors opened, but turned around to Oikawa again. Instead of answering verbally, he stuck out his tongue and pulled a face at Oikawa before starting to laugh again. Shouyou waved a last time at the setter as the doors closed and the redhead watched the waving figure of Oikawa grow small and disappear in the distance.

 

___________________________________________

 

_*Bing*_

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'yo hina-chan r u home or did u get lost on the way again? ;D'

**You** : 'Yes I'm home! I'm not that bad with directions!!!'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'u tried to find a train station a mile away for half an hour'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'anyway tho ive been meaning to ask whats this whole "Grand King" thing about?'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'not that im complaining ;D'

**You** : 'Well, everyone calls Kageyama the "King of the Court", so since you're his senpai, that makes you the "Grand King".'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : ' DDD: ur comparing me to tobio-chan??? How rude!!! Im not a dictator!!!!'

**You** : '? Kageyama is level king at volleyball, you're better than him, so you're a higher level. Grand King.'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'pffff hahaha who wouldve ur such a nerd Hina-chan :D'

**You** : 'FIGHT ME!!'

Shouyou layed back on the bed, the pout on his lips quickly dissolving into a grin again. Today had been kind of messed up, if he was hoenst. Getting out at the wrong station, walking around for thirty minutes, having Oikawa bringing him to the station; it sure hadn't been a normal Saturday. But then again, neither had the last one. After the loss against Aoba Johsai at the Inter-high, Shouyou had been crushed; he had been angry at Oikawa, at Seijoh and most of all at himself for not being more capable. Never would he have dreamed he would be able to walk and talk so friendly with the Captain of the team they had declared arch rivals. Of course, deep down Shouyou knew he was still bitter about their loss, but after today he felt much more at ease talking to Oikawa. Were they friends now? Shou had no idea, but Oikawa did say the redhead made friends where ever he went, so they might as well be. Shouyou chuckled to himself and sat back up. _'Maybe I can convince him to teach me how to jump serve!'_ He felt giddy at the thought of Kageyama's dumbfounded face when the dark haired setter would watch Hinata's amazing serve, but the image of Kageyama brought up another thought that made dread spread in Shouyou's stomach. Oikawa was Kageyama's older senpai, Shouyou knew better than anyone that his best friend had quite the complex when it came to the brunet. He would surely be angry when he found out that Shouyou befriended him. _'Uh…well, I don't have to mention it right away, I guess. I don't even know if Oikawa-san considers me a friend, so…'_ Shouyou nodded and smiled to himself, satisfied with that solution for now. What Kageyama didn't know wouldn't make him angry. His thoughts where interrupted by another message from Oikawa, and Shouyou huffed but smiled as he replied, feeling happy again to have made as new friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shouyou is very bad at math and so are almost all of his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well im a week late but here it is!! i dont think i'll be able to post an update every week, so the schedule might move to every two weeks. May is finals month for me sadly aha.. there isnt a great deal of things going on in this chapter, however the next chapter is already on its way and is definitely going to be longer and have lots of interaction hehe  
> i dont have a beta at the moment, so please excuse any mistakes.. and if you feel like betaing my chapters please tell me!! id love to have a second opinion before i post them. so yeah i hope you enjoy it!!

It had been four days since Shouyou had got lost in Tokyo, and he hadn't seen Oikawa since, but they've been texting every day. More and more often Oikawa would text Shouyou at a random time, asking the smaller boy to entertain him or tell him about his day because he was bored. Shouyou more than welcomed it, because it gave him an excuse to ignore his teacher or homework and quietly chuckle at Oikawa's dramatic rants or horrible puns instead. Plus, Shouyou could act more casual around him now, knowing that the Kageyama's former senpai was more than just the ruthless King who destroyed them on the court a few months ago. In general, over the last days Shouyou had learned more about the Aoba Johsai team than he thought he'd ever would. Apparently, Iwaizumi had lost an arm-wrestling challenge against a girl he tried to impress when he was younger and does not like to be reminded of it. Hanamaki and Matsukawa were the biggest pranksters in Seijoh and Oikawa seemed to be their favourite victim, in his opinion at least. Kindaichi was a huge sap and cried at any rom com you can find. And, surprisingly, Oikawa was really into physics, but only astrophysics. Shouyou would receive at least one space fact every day, though it would sometimes just be a bad pun about aliens. It was quite entertaining to Shouyou, really. The only person he had regularly texted before was Kenma, but Kenma didn't talk as much about his team than he complained about the stuff Kuroo and Bokuto were up to or how annoying Lev was, so all Shouyou would learn about Nekoma was that they were actually a bunch of dorks. Not that he minded, though; Shouyou loved talking to people outside of school or practice, it was refreshing. Especially since he didn't get to actually talk much to his team members when they were training. Kageyama wasn't big on texting, Shouyou would often only get short or no replies at all unless he was asking about something volleyball or school related.

Shouyou sighed deeply and let his head drop onto his open textbook which was supposed to be filled with formulas at this point. He longingly stared at his phone, hoping that the screen would light up with a message from Kenma or Oikawa or anyone to put him out of his misery and distract him for a little while. Shouyou had been sitting in front of his maths homework for almost an hour now, and the only thing that was written on the paper was the heading, his name and the formula he was supposed to solve. _'Ugh, I can't do this…'_ He groaned, bumped his head against the table twice and winced when he did it a little too hard. Worst of all, this was due tomorrow _and_ it was preparation for the test which was also tomorrow so he really didn't have time to procrastinate any longer. _'Maybe Kageyama already has some answers..'_ Shouyou lifted his head off the table and instantly grabbed his phone to text his best friend. Asking wouldn't hurt after all. 

**You** : 'Hey Kageyama'

**You** : 'How far are you with Math homework?'

**You** : 'I'm kinda stuck'

**Kageyama Tobio** : 'I haven't started.'

**You** : 'Oh my god are you for real'

**You** : 'At least I try to do it instead of giving up'

**You** : 'Who knew Kageyama was that stupid'

**Kageyama Tobio** : 'OI YOU'RE JUST AS DUMB AS I AM BASTARD'

**You** : 'YOU WANNA FIGHT???'

**Kageyama Tobio** : 'HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FIGHT ME WE'RE TEXTING'

**You** : 'UGH fine I'm gonna get help somewhere else'

"Aargh!"

Shouyou leaned back in his chair and threw his head back with an exasperated groan. Why did Kageyama always have to be so difficult! But no, he didn't have time for this right now. If he wanted to get a decent amount of sleep, he had to finish this in the next two hours. _'Who else should I ask?'_ Suga and Daichi seemed to do well in school, maybe they could help? Then again, Shouyou was scared Daichi would scold him if he found out he left his homework to the last minute... again… Suga it was, then.

**You** : 'Hello, Suga-san. I need help with my Math homework, do you have time to explain me how to solve it?'

**Sugawara Koushi :)** : 'Ah hi Hinata! :) No need to be so formal lol! I have some time yes, just send me the formula and I'll try my best! :)'

Shouyou grinned in excitement and relief at the thought of finally getting this done. He opened his camera app and quickly took a picture of the formulas which he swiftly send to Suga. Shouyou kept the chat open and waited eagerly for a reply. Five minutes later, he got a little worried. Did Suga forget about him? Was he bothering him after all? Did he not see the message?

**You** : 'Suga-san?'

**Sugawara Koushi :)** : 'Ahaha sorry Hinata!'

**Sugawara Koushi :)** : 'To be honest, Math was never my best subject. It would take me a while to get back into it, so I can't really explain it to you, I'm sorry. :('

**You** : 'Oh no, that's okay. Thank you anyway!'

**Sugawara Koushi :)** : 'No problem :) I would ask Ennoshita-san, but he is quite busy with his new job, so maybe ask Asahi-san?'

**You** : 'I will, thank you!!!

**Sugawara Koushi :)** : 'Good luck Hinata! :)'

Shouyou felt dejected, his initial hope was crushed, but he couldn't afford to give up now, so he searched his phone for Asahi's number. _'Where is it…. '_ After good two minutes of scrolling up and down his contact list, Shouyou gave up with a sigh after all. Great, he didn't even have his number! He could ask Nishinoya; the libero would surely have Asahi's number? No, not an option. Nishinoya would probably demand to try the formula himself, then pass it on to Tanaka to solve and frankly, Shouyou didn't have the time for that! Who else…right! Yachi helped him with English before! Surely she was good at Math as well?

**You** : 'Hey Yachi-san'

**You** : 'Can you help me with Math?'

**Yachi Hitoka** : 'uh I don't know but I can try? what is it?'

**You** : *Image sent*

**Yachi Hitoka** : ' give me a second!'

**You** : 'Sure'

**You** : '..can you solve it?'

**Yachi Hitoka** : 'uh I don't think so we didn't go through that yet, sorry Hinata-san…'

**You** : 'Don't worry, thank you anyway!'

Again, Shouyou's head met the table. He had just wasted twenty minutes texting and was at the same point as before, maybe even less motivated. _'What should I do…this isn't going anywhere!'_ Shouyou knew Tsukishima _could_ help him, but would absolutely refuse to do so if he asked. Not to mention, Tsukishima was a horrible teacher, he was impatient and yelled at Shouyou all the time! And Yamaguchi was always with the middle blocker, so he couldn't ask him either. Shouyou had now gone through every member of his team that could be helpful in any way and none of them were available. _'I could always ask Kenma, I guess.. No idea if he's actually good at maths though.'_ Shouyou sighed but managed to take his head off the table again to pick up his phone.

**You** : 'Kenmaaaaaa!!!!'

**You** : 'I'm stuck with my homework can you help me??'

**☆ Kenma ☆** : 'im so close to beating the high score do i have to? o3o'

**You** : 'pretty please??? You're my only hope!!'

**☆ Kenma ☆** : ' >3>'

**You** : 'Ice cream on me next weekend? And I'll play any game with you without complaining'

**☆ Kenma ☆** : 'fine whats the task'

**You** : *Image sent*

**☆ Kenma ☆** : 'okay so'

**☆ Kenma☆** : 'first you divide that first bit so the x moves over there, then you have to multiply by 5 to single out the y and'

Shouyou had barely read through half of Kenma's paragraph of explanation before his head started to spin with numbers and letters and he realized he did not get a single thing. Sure, Kenma had solved the formula and sure, Shouyou could technically just google all the answers, but the teacher had said the upcoming test would include formulas such as these, so Shouyou _needed_ to understand this if he didn't want to fail. And at the moment, he didn't understand anything. He tried reading the paragraph a few more times, but six minutes later he was jsut as clueless as before.

**You** : 'Uh, okay but why do you have to bring the y over there as well??'

**☆ Kenma ☆** :'well because you wanna get x'

**☆ Kenma ☆** : 'sorry Shouyou im entering a boss battle now gotta go'

**☆ Kenma ☆** : 'just google it'

**You** : ' Kenma don't leave mee!!!'

But, unsurprisingly to Shouyou, he didn't get another reply. "Some best friend he is.." Shouyou grumbled quietly to himself when his eyes fell onto his chat with Oikawa. Should he ask the Grand King? He would make fun of Shouyou for sure, wouldn't he? Yet even if so, Shouyou was really out of options this time. So all he could do was text Oikawa and hope that he wasn't busy or bad at Math as well like almost all of his friends. Shouyou hadn't realized before that actually, it was a wonder half of his team even managed to pass their classes. So, keepig that in mind, Oikawa really was his last ope. _'Well, he's good at physics he said, so Math should be fine?_ '

**You** : 'Hey Oikawa-san?'

**You** : 'I don't understand my Math homework and nobody can explain it properly can you help me??'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : ' 'ur rly not very good at anything but volleyball are u (o゜▽゜)o'

**You** : 'I'M GOOD AT PLENTY OF THINGS'

**You** : '…but not at Math'

**You** : 'So I need your help'

**You** : 'Kenma solved it for me but I didn't get it so'

**You** : 'Please can you explain it to me? In slow?'

**You** : *Image sent*

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'my my Hina-chan what would u do without me'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'but okay I have time so ill help u out ☆⌒(ゝ。∂)'

**You** : 'Thank you!!!!!'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'ok but we know what happened last time I tried to explain u something via text so can I call u instead?'

**You** : 'Yeah that's fine'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : ' ACTUALLY hold on I have an idea'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'do u have skype?'

 

\------

 

"Hina-chan, can you hear me?"

"Uh, yeah... how do I- uh wait… there we go."

Shouyou experimentally clicked on on a few buttons before the picture of Oikawa and a small one of himself in the corner flashed up on the screen. It had taken about ten minutes to set it all up, but now Shouyou had successfully installed Skype and called Oikawa. He didn't quite get why the older boy had insisted on video chat instead of just a call, he had said something about being able to explain it better like that, but Shouyou wasn't going to complain. Oikawa was the only one willing to help him, after all, so Shouyou didn't mind, especially if it was going to help him with his studies.

"Let's get started then, shall we?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, while you were setting up I copied some of the formulas down and solved them to find the easiest way to explain it and-"

Shouyou nodded every few seconds, sitting as straight in his chair as he rarely did. He tried his best to listen intently, yet he didn't even notice his thoughts wandered as he kept staring at Oikawa's face. He looked somehow different to usual. Shouyou thought it must be the glasses he was wearing, which made him seem older, but really, the setter's whole aura seemed more…mature? Shouyou couldn't really put a finger on it. It was different, yes, but not bad, that much he knew. It somehow suited Oikawa. If usually he was an smug, self-confident king who took risks and could be swayed by the situation, this Glasses-Oikawa was the type of king who was calculating and calm, someone who wouldn't be reckless and knew what to do to bring his Kingdom to prosperity. Shouyou considered that incredibly cool; he had heard that Oikawa had more faces than the one on the volleyball court, but Shouyou hadn't thought he would get to see different sides of the Grand King. Somehow knowing Shouyou was one of the few people who got to see a different Oikawa was great.

"So you- hey! Hina-chan, are you listening to me?"

Oikawa's voice pulled Shouyou out of his thoughts with a start and he flinched at the realization he had not heard at single word the setter had just said.

"W-what? I mean- yeah! Totally!"

"What did I just say then?"

"…uh…."

"Hina-chan!"

"I'm sorry!"

After being scolded by the older boy, Shouyou made sure not to get distracted again. Oikawa apparently was great at Math, due to his love for physics, and unlike Tsukishima he managed to break it down enough so even Shouyou could understand it perfectly. With Oikawa's help, he finished his homework in less than thirty minutes with only two mistakes, which the setter explained and corrected quickly. By the end of it, Shouyou was dead tired but beaming in pride at actually _understanding_ a mathematical concept. He smiled brightly and thanked Oikawa over and over for his help, who was kind enough to stay online the whole time. The older boy returned the smile and waved Shouyou good night before hanging up. Shouyou could finally get out of his chair and stretch his tired limps with a small sigh but the ever present smile on his lips. _'I'm sure I'll do great on the test tomorrow! Hehe, I almost can't wait!'_ With that thought, Shouyou quickly got changed and hopped into bed.

 

\---

 

"Hey! Hey Oikawa-san, you there?"

"Wha- Hina-chan?"

Shouyou beamed when he saw Oikawa's surprised face appeared on his computer screen. He had raced home when he got the test back a few days later; he wanted to show Oikawa his amazing results, not just text them. The setter didn't seem to be home yet, the background was a street and Shouyou could hear background noise, but he didn't care much. He had to tell Oikawa the news right away!

"We got our tests back and guess what!"

The surprised and confused expression melted off Oikawa's face and was replaced by a small smile and raised eyebrows.

"What did you get?"

Shouyou paused for dramatic effect, tried and failed to wipe the grin off his face and held up his test in front of the screen for Oikawa to see; but not without leaving a little space for himself to peek at his reaction.

"98 points?! Hina-chan that's amazing!!"

Oikawa's expression was more than Shouyou had hoped for. His eyes were wide and his mouth stretched into a bright smile while his whole face came closer to the screen as if he couldn't believe it. Seeing the setter's reaction only made Shouyou even more excited and he began bouncing in his seat, his face almost hurt because of his own smile. He put down the sheet of paper to avoid crushing it because at soon as it leaves his hands, he balls them to fists and shakes them excitedly up and down.

"I know right?! I couldn't believe it! I did it!"

"You did!!"

They both laughed in unisono and Shouyou felt giddy with excitement, and even more so because Oikawa shared it! As soon as they managed to calm down, Shouyou told Oikawa all about the test, that the mistakes he had made were almost the same as the ones he had made when they were studying, that nobody on his team believed him when he said he didn't cheat, and that it was all thanks to Oikawa. The setter pretended to be humble and waved him off, but laughed loudly when Shouyou kept praising and thanking him. He even mustered up the courage to ask Oikawa if it's okay to come for help to him again, to which the setter replied with a happy grin and "Sure, anything for my little Kouhai". Shouyou huffed at that, saying he wasn't his Kouhai, but kept talking about his day just because he enjoyed talking to Oikawa, and since they were already skyping he might as well continue. However, way too soon for Shouyou's liking, his mother called him down for dinner so Shouyou had to end the conversation.

"Ah, my mum just called so I gotta go!"

Oikawa nodded with a smile, but instead of saying goodbye he looked at Shouyou a little longer. However, before Shouyou could ask, Oikawa just chuckled quietly.

"You're so cute, Hina-chan."

"I- what?!"

Shouyou felt his face heat up in embarrassment and confusion as he stared at the screen with wide eyes. Had Oikawa just called him "cute"?! Why would he call him cute? Shouyou wasn't that much younger than the setter, nor a pretty girl, so..what? Instead of giving him a proper reply, Oikawa just chuckled again, apparently very amused by Shouyou's reaction.

"I mean, you get excited so quickly and about everything, that's just adorable."

"Wha-...Y-you wanna fight?!"

_"Shouyou, it's going to get cold!!"_

"Ugh! A-anyway! I'll talk to you later, bye!!"

Shouyou quickly clicked the red button and watched Oikawa's laughing face disappear from the screen, but he didn't get up yet. Instead, he kept staring at the screen, his reflection confirming that his face wasn't only hot but bright red as well. Shouyou shook his head before burying it in his hands, the heat from his cheeks resonating against his palms. _'U-ugh, what the heck was that?'_ He had been called cute by adults and elderly people before, but while that had annoyed him as well, never did he have a reaction like this. It must be Oikawa then and the fact that Shouyou must still be intimidated by him? He didn't really feel intimidated, though. Shouyou dragged his hands down his face, deciding he needed to get downstairs before his mum came up and asked questions, so he stood with a mumbled "Stupid King and his teasing remarks" and jogged out of his room down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh i love kenhina gotta say obviously its platonic here but ahh theyre cute ahaha  
> little thing about side pairings, would you guys prefer if i did no side pairings/ kept them ambigious or would you be fine with some minor side pairings? the only ones i had in mind at the moment would be bokuroo and matsuhana though that might change. i know side pairings can really be annoying in fics so I'd like to hear your opinion!! hope youll enjoy the upcoming things hehe
> 
> and as usual:  
> Tumblr: personal blog @olisepha ; haikyuu!! side blog @kurokashis


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Shouyou gets a little gay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yoo chapter 4! thanks to everyone who commented it is really encouraging!!!! also from the feedback from last time, there won't be any explicitly stated side pairs. There might be some hinted at, but nothing explicit.  
> also this one is quite a bit longer than usual over 5k words but i cant promise i'll keep that length  
> again, no beta so excuse any mistakes  
> i hope you enjoy!!

In the last week, Shouyou had discovered Skype as his new favourite program. He had downloaded the app onto his phone and even convinced Kenma to do the same, who was only slowly warming up to it. The blond didn't like video chats as much, but they occaisionally skyped so Shouyou could watch Kenma play games that Shouyou wasn't good enough to play himself, so Kenma was like his personal Let's player. Otherwise, they switched to Skype for texting when they were in WiFi range since it didn't cost anything and Shouyou was always online anyway since he kept the app on his phone running. Oikawa, on the other hand, didn't mind when the younger boy called him randomly, so on weekends or after practice Shouyou would just skype the setter to tell him whatever was on his mind and what he deemed too long to text.

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'yo hina-chan wwu2? :D'

Shouyou closed the door of the clubroom behind him and jogged down the stairs while typing up a reply. He would never admit it, but he had had to look up quite a few of the abbreviations Oikawa used when texting. Sure, Kenma used some as well, but by far not as many as Oikawa or replaced letters with numbers. But the older boy hadn't seemed to notice that Shouyou took longer to reply sometimes, and Shouyou would rather die than tell him and endure the embarrassment that followed.

**You** : 'On my way to practice. We're playing three on three today, I'm excited!!'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'have fun and give tobio a nice punch for me! ;D'

**You** : 'Why would I do that??'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : ';DD'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'reminds me im coming to Torono Town Friday after school wanna meet up?'

**Tooru-senpai ♡♡♡** : 'bring me sweets and ill set for u :D'

**You** : 'Sure!!!!'

**You** : 'Gotta go, talk to you later!'

Shouyou didn't wait for a reply to put away his phone and took off running, faster and faster until he passed Kageyama with a cheeky grin, who started running himself as soon as Shouyou was past him. They started racing to the gym like they did every day, and Shouyou watched in delight the scowl appearing on Kageyama's face when the setter reached the doors barely a second after him. This day was getting better with the minute! Shouyou leaned back against the wall of the gym and chuckled breathlessly, chest still rising and falling quickly as he tried to catch his breath.

"Oi, why're you so happy?", a slightly annoyed and equally out of breath voice asked from above Shouyou.

When he looked back up, Kageyama was standing over him, one hand outstretched. Shouyou huffed quietly but took his hand anyway, pulling himself up and jumped to a stand in front of the taller boy. He adjusted his bag on his shoulder before shrugging at Kageyama's question with a smile.

"Dunno. It's just a nice day!"

"Pff, yeah sure. Hurry up, Daichi-san and the rest are already waiting."

"Yeah!"

\-------------

"Alright, that's enough for today!"

Shouyou blew out a sigh when he heard Daichi announce the end of practice, jogging over to Yachi and Shimizu, gladly accepting the waterbottle the younger blonde gave him.

"Good work today!"

Yachi smiled lightly at Shouyou, who gave her a thumbs up, before she left to give out towels to the wheezing second years a bit further back. Hinata downed more than half the bottle before setting it down and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, glancing over to Tanaka and Nishinoya. The two had ended training with making a contest out of everything, so right now they were laying on the floor wheezing for air. Shouyou snickered as he watched Yachi frantically trying to cool them down, squeaking "Don't die!" in an even higher voice than usual, as Tanaka and Nishinoya tried to determine who had won their contest while simultaneously trying not to suffocate from the water they took between gasps. Shouyou almost didn't notice when Kageyama stepped up next to him and looked down at him after accepting a towel from Shimizu.

"Oi, Hinata. Are you free on Friday after school?"

"Hm?"

"We haven't practiced together in a while."

Shouyou felt a huge smile spread across his face. It wasn't every day that Kageyama _offered_ to play with him! And Shouyou didn't even have to ask or promise to buy him a pork bun! He was about to happily agree when he realized, actually, no, he wasn't free this weekend. In fact, just before practice started he had agreed to meet with Oikawa, someone who he absolutely couldn't ask if "Kageyama could join". As far as Shouyou knew, the animosity between the two was stronger than ever, and he surely wouldn't try and interfere with that. His smile fell in a matter of seconds and obviously, Kageyama noticed as he stepped closer with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Ah, um, nothing. I just realized I have plans already. A friend is coming to visit. A-an old friend from middle school! Haven't seen him in a while, so I can't. Sorry."

Hinata wanted to punch himself at this moment. Lying surely was not his forte, but he had hoped to sound at least a _little bit_ more convincing. He looked up at Kageyama, internally screaming and praying he wouldn't notice, before the setter shrugged and blew out a sigh.

"Alright. We can do it another time."

"Yeah!"

Shouyou felt his smile return to his face as he followed Kageyama outside, happy once again at the prospect of getting to play with his best friend after all. _'Day saved!'_ , he thought and walked next to Kageyama towards the club room, ignoring the guilt quietly gnawing on him.

\------

"Hina-chan, ready?"

"Yeah!"

For the umpteenth time this evening, Shouyou started running after bouncing the ball back to Oikawa and jumped just before the net to spike the ball into the ground on the other side. They have been going at it for at least three hours, with a half an hour pause for snacks and chatting about their days. By the time Shouyou had returned from school and went to pick up Oikawa, it had already been half past five, but they had payed it no mind since the sun was out until late in the evening in summer. So, the two boys have practiced serves and receives, but most of all, they had been trying new ways of spiking, as Shouyou had requested. While Oikawa was famous for being able to play with any team perfectly, it hadn't been until now that Shouyou felt completely in sync with him. Sure, they couldn't do the same quicks he did with Kageyama, but with a bit of Oikawa's knowledge and stategy, he could hit the ball with much more power which made up for the lacking speed. This new way of doing things made Shouyou wanting to try and play on a team with Oikawa, in a game against another equally strong team, to see how far their combination could go, but he knew that would likely not happen. No one in Karasuno was on very good terms with Oikawa and Shouyou definitely couldn't ask Kageyama to sit on the benches for a game or two to let his old senpai set for him. And he didn't know anyone else in Aoba Johsai, and Shouyou doubted that his new friendship with their captain would make them let him play on their team.

Shouyou landed back on his feet, cheering at the successful spike, and looked over to the other side of the net to make out where the ball had rolled. He ducked under the net and squinted as he made his way to pick it up, slower than a few hours ago. Shouyou had been so absorbed in their game that he hadn't noticed how dark it had gotten around them. So, conscious of the fact that Oikawa had a train to catch, he grabbed the ball and jogged back over to the setter.

"Hey, Oikawa-san. It's getting quite dark, what time is it?"

The brunet nodded and Shouyou followed him to the bench to sit down and get a sip of water while Oikawa was rummaging around his bag for his Phone. Shouyou leaned back, leaving his legs temporarily hanging in the air, and watched at the last bit of light disappeared behind the trees and tainted the world in twilight. It was weird how he could completely forget the time when he was playing volleyball. Once, when he had been practicing together with Kageyama, they hadn't realized it was nighttime until Shouyou had crashed into the net during a spike. He chuckled quietly at the memory and put the waterbottle down, but before he got to put it away, Shouyou was startled by slightly panicked cry sounding from next to him.

"SHIT!"

Out of Reflex, Shouyou opened his mouth to tell him not go be so vulgar, but instead he swallowed it and jumped up immediately, just in case something had spilled or they were attacked by giant beetles. Yet instead of bugs of unnatural size he saw Oikawa hurriedly stuff everything into his bag and continually glancing at his phone. Shouyou tilted his head to the side in confusion, but before he could ask, the setter explained himself with quick words.

"It's nine fifteen! The last train home I can catch leaves at nine thirty! Fuck!"

Upon hearing that, Shouyou didn't waste any more time grabbing his things as well. Obviously he would bring Oikawa to the station, if only to make sure he would find his way. Shouyou quickly slipped into his jacket, stuffed the ball into his back and threw it over his shoulder before looking back up to Oikawa with determination sparkling in his eyes.

"Let's go then!"

\-----

When Shouyou ran up the stairs of the station a few steps ahead of Oikawa, he just managed to catch a glimpse of the train leaving the station. _'Shoot! He has to get that train!'_ Shouyou sped up even more, almost stumbling over his own feet as he ran across the station, waving wildly in his hope the train would stop after all.

"Wait! Waaiit!!"

But, as he had expected, he train did not stop and instead vanished into the distance and Shouyou came to a stop at the end of the platform, bracing himself on his knees to catch his breath. He should've kept track of the time, set an alarm or anything, then Oikawa wouldn't have missed his train! Shouyou flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder and stood up straight again as he looked up at the setter, who gave him a small sympathetic smile despite looking rather defeated himself. Shouyou didn't really know what to say, so instead he watched Oikawa sigh and look after the long gone train as he tried to regulate his breathing.

"Well, that train is gone for sure. Ah, fuck!" Oikawa threw his head back in annoyance and gripped his hair, so suddenly that Shouyou jumped yet again. "I can't even ask my mum to pick me up, she's away on a business trip…if Iwa-chan finds out about this he's gonna kill me.."

A shiver ran through him and Shouyou raised his eyebrows in surprise at the fact that _the Grand King_ was so afraid of his friend. Then again, Shouyou had met Iwaizumi, that guy had a glare that could most likely kill a man; and since Shouyou felt partly responsible for Oikawa missing his train, he definitely had to prevent that. Shouyou's forehead creased with a frown as he pondered for ways to help his friend. He could ask his mother to drive him home, but honestly, Shouyou would prefer if she didn't. He was sure she would agree, but she had been working all day and had to take care of Natsu in the evening, he was sure she was completely exhausted. And Oikawa couldn't stay at the retirement home of his grandma either… wait.

"Uhm… you could stay over at my house?" Shouyou looked up to see Oikawa's eyebrows shoot up so far the redhead feared they'd jump out of his face. Shouyou felt his face heat up in embarrassment and tried to defend his offer. After all, it wasn't that weird to offer that to a friend was it? Or was their friendship not at that level yet?! "I- I mean! I still owe you for helping me find my way a few weeks ago, so..!"

Oikawa kept looking at him with an utterly dumbfounded expression before he pulled a grimace trying to surpress laughter which burst out seconds later anyway. Shouyou didn't think he had said something _that_ ridiculous and he was about to die of shame when Oikawa clapped him on the back.

"God, Hina-chan, you're so cute when you're embarrassed." He chuckled lightly before resorting to a smile. "Thanks, though. I'll have to take you up on that."

Shouyou grumbled quietly, trying to rid himself of the embarrassment that was still gnawing on him and lightly elbowed Oikawa in the side. "What's with you calling me cute, I'm not a kid!" But the setter seemed more relaxed and his smile more carefree than what Shouyou usually saw even despite his situation, so even if Shouyou had wanted to be mad, he couldn't. Plus, he had never been good at holding grudges (unlike a certain dark haired first year setter) so Shouyou quickly smiled again and pulled Oikawa back into the direction they came from.

"Come on!"

 

\----------

 

"Mum, I'm home!"

Shouyou closed the door behind Oikawa and showed him where to leave his shoes before slipping out of his own. He ran into the kitchen with a smile on his face, temporarily leaving the setter in the hallway to greet his mother and sister. Shouyou ruffled his sisters hair before quickly hopping to his mother and giving her a peck on the cheek followed by a light grin.

"Welcome back, Shou. Had fun?"

"Yep! Ah, by the way…"

Shouyou nodded and glanced to the doorway to call Oikawa, but the setter had already abandoned the front door and was peeking into the kitchen with almost uncharacteristical awkwardness, looking around before locking eyes with the redhead. Shouyou smiled again and went back to the doorway to pull his friend into the kitchen fully before turning back to his mother. It was weird that Oikawa had never been to his house before, despite them being friends for weeks now. Or was it months already? Shouyou wasn't quite sure, but he didn't care either, he was sure his mother would like the setter anyway.

"Mum, this is my friend Oikawa, the one who brought me to the train the other night, remember?"

Shouyou glanced up at the setter, who quickly put on his usual charming smile and bowed deeply when Shouyou's mother turned towards him with a surprised expression. Shouyou wanted to frown, why would Oikawa fake a smile around his mum when his real smiles were much more charming?

"I am Oikawa Tooru, it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss."

Shouyou saw his mother's face grow even more surprised before she started laughing lightly and giving the setter a small bow as well.

"Please, please, no need for such formality!" She waved him off and smiled softly when Oikawa stood up straight again. "I am Hinata Hanako, but please call me Hana. I have heard lots about you!"

"Then please call me Tooru as well, Hana-san. I insist."

A smile grew on Shouyou's face when he saw his mother laugh and agree to his request and how his friend's shoulders visibly relaxed, also. He had expected nothing less, after all, his mother had always been well liked by anyone! Shouyou stepped forward again, most satisfied with the introduction, to move on to the main reason they were here.

"So, mum, Oikawa-san missed his train because we didn't keep track of the time while we're playing, so it's kinda my fault, and that was the last train and- anyway can he stay over tonight?"

The redhead glanced away from his friend, who chuckled quietly at Shouyou's rambling, back to his mother, who, on the other hand, was used to her son's quick talking. Still, Shouyou hoped his mother would understand their situation and allow Oikawa to stay, even though he doubted she'd do anything else. The tiny bit of anxiety was always there. His mother didn't even seem to consider it for long though, instead she clapped her hands together with a wide smile on her face and beckoned them to sit on the table.

"Of course he can! You haven't had a friend over in so long, Shou! Also, it's about time I meet the friend you've been talking to much about lately."

"Mum!"

Again, Shouyou's mother laughed and sat both of them down at the table. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please, sit down. I've just made curry, I know how long you're usually out practicing so Natsu and I ate earlier."

Without waiting for an answer, his mother served both of them a plate with rice and curry before announcing she would set up the spare futon for Oikawa in Hinata's room. Shouyou smiled brightly, more than happy with how things turned out, and started eating quickly. His stomach had been growling since at least half an hour and they had been training for so long, he really deserved a good meal now! However, he noticed Oikawa had not moved since his mother left, so Shouyou stopped stuffing his face to look at him, only to find him look mildly surprised still.

"Something wrong? It's good, you know."

"Hm? Ah, yeah", the setter blinked a few times to snap out of whatever daze he was in before a smile appeared on his lips again. "Your mother seems really nice."

"She is! And she cooks absolutely amazing! Come on, try it!"

"Ahaha- alright, alright!" There it was again, Oikawa's laugh, without the mask or fake smile he seemed to love to put on, just an honest laugh. Shouyou felt his smile grow watching his friend taste the curry and immediately light up again, complimenting how great it was despite Shouyou's mother not being present. Shouyou had seen Oikawa make many different expressions, and many different smiles, and unless they had been on the court, most of them were fake. But spending more time with the setter, Shouyou had learned to tell the real smiles from the fake ones, and he decided he liked this one the best.

"Uhm!"

Shouyou was pulled out of his thoughts by the high pitched noise coming from across the table. He quickly took his gaze off of Oikawa to look at his little sister, whose presence he had totally forgotten, and who was now sitting straight in her chair with an eager glimmer in her eyes. Shouyou smiled lightly at her, recognizing her excited expression since he had worn the same for as long as he could remember.

"What is it, Natsu?"

The young girl took a deep breath, so deep her cheeks puffed out and got a soft rosy colour, before directing her gaze at the brunet next to Shouyou.  
"I… I'm Hinata Natsu! I'm five!"

Oikawa's eyes widened when the young girl introduced herself personally to him, but the surprise in his eyes quickly turned into endearment and he chuckled as he gently took the outstretched hand Natsu offered with two fingers.  
"Nice to meet you, Natsu-chan. I'm Tooru."

Natsu's initial nervousness gone, she eagerly shook Oikawa's fingers with a wide smile on her face. "Tooru-kun! Do you want to play? Can we play together after dinner, brother?" Her attention was now back on Shouyou, who glanced at the clock with a doubtful look.

"It's already quite late, Natsu. You shouldn't be playing at this hour.."

"But-!"

"Hina-chan, you're no fun!" Shouyou was caught off guard yet again when Oikawa piped up even before Natsu could finish. He gave the setter a confused look, but Oikawa only gave him a quick wink before turning back to Natsu. Shouyou guessed that meant he had a plan, and the redhead didn't really have a choice but to let Oikawa do as he pleased.

"Well, Natsu-chan, your brother is right, it's late, but how about we finish eating and then watch a movie together? Your pick?"

_Ah._ So _that_ was it. Shouyou quickly smiled again and nodded in agreement as he turned back to his sister. The youngest seemed to consider her options for a second, but quickly beamed at both teenagers.

"Alright! Let's watch…. High School Musical!"

 

\---------

 

"Okay, all set…uhm…do you think… these will fit?"

Shouyou fished a wide shirt and a pair of sweatpants out of his wardrobe and held them up for Oikawa to see. Finding fitting clothes had been a little difficult, considering Shouyou barely reached over the setter's shoulder, but eventually he had found this combination that Kageyama had forgotten at his house when he was staying over one weekend. Though, Oikawa didn't have to know they were Kageyama's. Shouyou would just say they belonged to a cousin or something.

"Yeah, thanks. You didn't have to go through all the trouble-"

"It's fine! You can't sleep in your trainings clothing." Shouyou waved him off with a light smile before grabbing a shirt and pants for himself and closing the closet. He considered going to the bathroom to change, but quickly decided against it. Yes, it was Oikawa's first time staying over, but they were both boys, so he'd probably tease Shouyou if he left the room to change. There was nothing to feel insecure about anyway. So instead, the redhead just went over to his bed and turned his back to Oikawa before taking off his shirt and beginning to change.

"By the way, are you okay with Natsu using your first name? I can tell her not to."

Shouyou glanced over his shoulder to see the setter had also started changing, and Shouyou's eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight. Maybe there was something to feel insecure about. He had seen Oikawa's arms before, which were toned from the constant training despite not being as buff as Iwaizumi's, but Shouyou had not seen the setter's abs flex when he took of his shirt, and he had not seen his back when Oikawa turned around to grab the shirt Shouyou had given him. The redhead felt his face heat up and he quickly turned back around and finished pulling his own shirt over his head when the setter turned to him.

"No, I don't mind at all. You should drop the 'Oikawa-san' too, Hina-chan. There is no need to be so formal, we're friends, right?"

Shouyou didn't make the same mistake of looking over his shoulder again but instead just quickly changed into his pyjama pants while considering Oikawa's words.

"Right...so, Oikawa then?"

"Hm….that's better, but not cute at all. C'mon, call me by my first name!"

When Shouyou finished changing and made sure the setter was done as well, he turned back around fully and blinked a few times. He agreed that 'Oikawa-san' was a little too formal now, but could he really call him by his first name already?

"You mean, just.. Tooru? Or Tooru-san?"

Shouyou waited for a reaction from the setter, who now just stared blankly back at the redhead with slightly widened eyes. Had he said something wrong? Shouyou had only done as Oikawa said and called him by his first name? Maybe the setter didn't like it after all and just didn't know how to tell him? Shouyou opened his mouth to ask if everything was alright, but before he could make a sound, the setter quickly turned around and hid his face in one hand while using the other to signal Shouyou to wait. Now Shouyou was utterly confused. From what he could still see of Oikawa's face, his cheeks were tainted in a bright red that even reached the tip of his ears. Shouyou didn't know what was happening. Was he so angry that his face got red?!

"J-just Oikawa then!"

Shouyou quickly corrected himself, hoping it would appease Oikawa, who, much to Shouyou's relief, nodded quietly and stopped hiding soon after. There was still a pink tint on his cheeks, Shouyou noticed, and despite his smile the setter seemed to avoid Shouyou's eyes as he cleared his throat, but at least he didn't seem angry.

"Shall we go down to Natsu-chan then? We don't want to keep her waiting."

Shouyou nodded and smiled lightly again, deciding to just ignore the incident and making a small mental note not to use Oikawa's first name any time soon.

\------

Instead of just watching High School Musical, Shouyou and Oikawa ended up having to perform all the scenes involving music to the best of their ability, to the direction of Natsu. Shouyou had to take over the part of Gabriella since his voice reached the higher notes despite singing quite off key anway, but Natsu wanted Oikawa to sing Sharpay, which he absolutely loved to. It wasn't any suprise to Shouyou, both Sharpay and Oikawa were the biggest drama queens, so Natsu and Shouyou sat together giggling when Oikawa performed her songs. Shouyou had been worried at first that Oikawa would feel forced to entertain Natsu or play along, but Oikawa seemed to enjoy himself immensely, if the enthusiasm with which he sang the duets with Shouyou was any indication.

Natsu fell asleep halfway through the credits, so the two boys turned down the television and Oikawa even offered to carry her to her room, despite Shouyou's quiet protest that he was strong enough on his own, thank you very much. Still, he let the older boy bring Natsu to bed, though Shouyou took over when it came to tugging her and giving her the small rabbit she always cuddled with. They quietly went back downstairs since it was still too early for the two of them to go to bed when Oikawa offered to watch another movie. They settled on Star Wars: Episode IV after Shouyou refused to watch a chick flick or a conspiracy theory documentary and Oikawa refused to watch just any action movie. So, while Oikawa set up the movie, Shouyou made popcorn for the both of them and they sat together on the couch, the bowl of popcorn eventually settled on Shouyou's lap.  
Throughout the entire movie, Oikawa made quiet comments on anything that came to his mind, fun facts about the actors, the special effects, but most often he somehow came back to alien facts that weren't even related to the movie. Shouyou found he didn't mind at all, most of the things where actually quite interesting, and Oikawa always had that almost childish enthusiasm in his voice when he talked about aliens, so Shouyou just listened and replied with quiet "Really?"s or "Woah!"s.

While they were watching the movie, Shouyou felt his thoughts wander, though. He thought back to when he had met Oikawa on the small court a bit outside of Torono Town. Back then, the memory of their loss against Aoba Johsai was still fresh and Shouyou's stomach would twist when he saw Oikawa, in fear or bitterness, he didn't know, but it was never pleasant. The condescending, intimidating look of the King looking down on them when they lost their game had been ever so present in Shouyou's mind. But now, his stomach wouldn't twist anymore when he saw the setter, it rather felt like a jump followed by a wave of excitement. Now, even when they were already hanging out, Shouyou wished he could spend even _more_ time with Oikawa. Maybe if Shouyou hadn't fought with Kageyama that day, he would've just spat an insult at Oikawa and fled. But in his anger he had forgotten that they were supposedly enemies and that's what seemed to have made them friends. Shouyou didn't know why Oikawa had decided to listen to him that day or set for him either, but he was glad that he did.

Yet before Shouyou could delve any deeper into thoughts, he felt his consciousness slipping and the haze of sleep take over him.

\-----

Tooru glanced away from the screen when he felt a gentle weight pressing against his side. He looked down to see the orange mop of hair rest on his shoulder, framing the peacefully sleeping face of his friend. It seemed Hinata had fallen asleep and was now curled up against Tooru's side, one hand loosely wrapped around his arm. The setter's eyebrows rose and he sighed quietly with a small smile on his lips. _' "Not cute", my ass.'_ The smaller boy didn't seem to be aware of his own aura. Sure, Hinata had captured his interest the first time he spiked the ball straight past Tooru, but that was not it. Ever since the first day when the small redhead had started complaining about Tobio, he had managed to surprise Tooru every time again. The bright cheers whenever he mastered a new technique, the excited smile when he had told Tooru his test, the _jumping_ whenever something great happened. And not to forget the way he had said his name. It wasn't fair. Hinata was just so full of energy and life all the time, it was refreshing to be around him.

Of course, Tooru appreciated his friends in Seijoh for sticking with him throughout everything, especially Iwa-chan in that sense, but all of them had already seen the "evil" in this world and were more cynical just like himself. Hinata wasn't like that, even when he was faced with troubles, he somehow managed to keep this touch of innocence and happiness, and honestly, Tooru admired that. He hadn't managed it. When Tobio had joined the volleyball team Tooru had felt so threatened he had almost punched him if it hadn't been for Iwa-chan, and while Tooru may or may not feel a little bit sorry for that, he still hated his guts. Hinata started with no technical skill whatsoever and stood in Tobio's shadow, yet he worked with him with barely any complaints and just strives to be better. It was admirable.

_'But I digress…. I should bring him to bed.'_ Tooru used his free hand to cover a yawn before gently prying the smaller boy off him. He held him in place as he stood up himself so Hinata wouldn't fall over and grabbed for the remote to turn off the TV before turning back to Hinata. Tooru didn't want to wake him, but he was tired himself and didn't want to risk dropping him, so he'd rather have him walk.

"Hey, Hina-chan. Come on, let's get you to bed."

The younger boy stirred in his arms, mumbling a quiet "Don't wanna", but otherwise made no motion of standing up. Tooru sighed quietly and softly shook him again, before kneeling down in front of him with his back turned towards Hinata.

"Get on. I'll carry you up then, you lazy kid."

Hinata opened his eyes enough to see Tooru, blinking a few times, and mumbled a protest, that he "wasn't lazy", but moved forward and wrapped his arms around Tooru's neck. The older boy chuckled quietly and stood, trying to sneak up the stairs with Hinata on his back. He was thankful that the redhead didn't go completely limp in his arms and at least had a weak grip on his hips and neck. Tooru even managed to get Hinata to open the door to his room before he walked inside and closed it as quietly as possible with his foot. He placed younger boy on the bed and pulled the blanket over him before ruffling his hair and whispering a quiet "Good night". Hinata responded with a hum and Tooru just chuckled quietly to himself before slipping under the covers on the futon next to the bed himself.

Hinata really wasn't fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah both got a little gay ahaha and yeah im sure realistically there would be trains after nine thirty and yeah canonically Natsu is three, but lets call that artistic freedom lol  
> i got the name for Hinas mother from the OiHina fic "Can't be impossible" which i absolutely loved, thought i should mention that!
> 
> as per usual talk to me about oihina on tumblr:  
> personal: @olisepha  
> haikyuu!!: @kurokashis


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